Disinfecting apparatus.



' N0. 698,")9. Patented Apr.'22, I902.

E. FOURNIER.

DISINFEGTING APPARATUS.

(Application filed. Feb. 8, 1898.) (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF E.

' EUGENE FOURNIER, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

.DlS-INFECTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 698,109, datedApii122, 1902'.

Application filed February 3, 1898. Serial No. 668,982. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern):

Be it knownthat I, EUGENE FOURNIER, a

citizen of theRepublicof France, residing at Paris, France, have invented a certain new and useful Disinfectin'g Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention has relation to an 'appara* tus for disinfecting; and it consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafter fully described,

illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In experimenting I have found that in order to completely disinfect dust-or contaminated dry substances which are difficult to penetrate-such, for instance, as those containing anthrax spores--it is necessary to first saturate the atmosphere of the building, 850.,

with slightly alcoholized and alkalinized (say to the extent of 0.5 per cent.',) steam. The alcoholized and alkalinized vapors are obtained by adding to the water from one to five per cent. of alcohol and one-half percent. of volatile alkali. These proportions are very small-"- in fact, for a building of'one hundred cubic ,meters the quantity of water istwo liters, so

that only one hundred cubic centimeters of ethyl alcohol and five cubic centimeters of ammonia are necessary. It is, moreover, ab-' solutely necessary for obtaining completely satisfactory results that this steam,as well as the disinfecting or sterilizing vapors subse-- quentlyjinjected, shouldpenetrate or be diffused throughout the atmosphere. This is especially necessary when the dimensions of the place to be disinfected exceed sixty cubic meters and the height exceeds the usual height of a room-such, for-instance, as is the case in official laboratories, where theminimum height is very often five meters. In order more 'particularlyto sterilize contaminated dust and'dry substances, I have found it'be'st to generate disinfecting or sterilizing vapors by vaporizing a mixture of formaldehyde with alcohol and acetone. Having first moistened the atmosphere of the roombythe first operation and before proceedingwith the second operation, thefloor of the room is sprinkled with the solution of the disinfectant used for said second operation.

One of the experiments made with the hereinbefore-described process related to fifteen cultures, with which fabrics and wood were impregnated-and which comprised anthrax spores, the microbe of typhoid fever, the pyogenie microbe, 85c. (pus blew.) After twentyfour hours of contact the most perfect and,

absolute results Were obtained, no germination taking place.

An apparatus enabling the easy and quick practical application of the hereinbefore de scribed process to be made will now be described. For this purposea hermetically closable apparatus is employed, the construction of which will be easily understood from the description, with referenceto'the accomipanying drawi'ngs,Figurel showing the essential parts of the apparatus'invertical section, Figs. 2 and 3 being detail views.

The apparatus comprises,Fig. 1, alien metically-closing boiler or generator. A with cover B, in which generator isarranged a cylindrical receptacle (LhavingfafiXed bottom and cover, the latter of which is provided with an aperture D for filling, closed by an airjection or branchF, passingthrough the cover B of the boiler atG, the jointbeing rendered air-tight in any suitable manner. To this ;branch F is attached a short tube H, having a cock ,I, having a plug with'two ways, one of which' 'can come inlinewith the passage J, communicating at the bottom with the interior of the boiler A, and the otherwith the passage K, communicating with the interior of the receptacle C. The upper endsof these passages J and K are continued by two tubes y .L M, which come together atacertain'height,

merging into one tube N, which is madeas tached to the end ofthe'uppertube of the P long as desired. A protecting-casing O, at-

cock I, surrounds the tubes L, M and'jNafor a. I a

certain length. The tubefN ispreferably made of rigid metal. Toitsupperend is con.-. nected, by means of a screw union-piece Q,

a continuation made of some flexible metal or material, so as to enable it -to'befbe'nt in any direction. To the end of this extension may be joined other similar extensions made of flexible or rigid metal or material in any roe" . 7s tight screw-plug E, andwith a tubular pro-x desired number and of any length, or instead of these last extensions to the second extension may be, if required, directly connected a spraying or dilfusing device. This device serves for projecting into and diffusing in the room, &c., firstly, the alcoholized and alkalinized steam, which prepares the contaminated dust or material for the subsequent thorough impregnation with disinfecting vapors, and, secondly, the disinfecting vapors, after a sufficient interval has elapsed to enable the steam to condense and the pressure in the apparatus to be raised to four atmospheres, said projections taking place, preferably, at a pressure of about four atmospheres and for any desired length of time. Previously to these operations the room to be dis infected is closed in a more or less air-tight manner, the apparatus being placed outside and one of the tubes B being passed through a keyhole or any other suitable opening into the room.

The introducing or diffusing device according to the present invention consists, in one form, of a trident-shaped device, Fig. 2, the tubular prong or branch S of which is directed downward normally to the prong U, directed upward, while the branch T is arranged along the bisector of the angle formed by the branches S and U and is horizontal. The cross sectional area of the tubular branches is preferably such that the pressure of steam in the generator A and of the vapors in the receptacle 0 is only slightly diminished.

It will now be easy to understand the new disinfecting and sterilizing process. The receptacle O, containing the required quantity of the disinfectant solution, isintroduced into the generator A, which is closed by its cover B and contains a quantity of alcoholized and alkalinized water required for heating the receptacle G and producing the steam required for the first operation according to the present process. The attachment containing the cock I is screwed into the socket F. The protecting-casing is then attached. The tube N is connected by its first extension of flexible tubing to a second extension, which is rigid and which has been put in place before closing up the room or place to be disinfected. This extension passes through the wall of the room through a keyhole or any other suitable opening and is connected inside the room with the projecting and diffusing device or trident S T U, either directly or by means of one or several other extensions, protected, if required, by a woolen or fabric covering, according to the length of the room. Then the generator A is heated by any suitable means, the cock I being successively opened at both its passages to a sufficient extent to enable air to escape both from the generator and from the receptacle 0. The apparatus may be provided with a safetyvalve and alarmwhistle set to the desired pressure, which should be about four atmospheres.

The signal given by said safety devices in dicates that the apparatus has acquired sufficient pressure and is ready to work. The cock I is then turned so as to open the passage .I, communicating with the generator. IVhen it is considered that a sufficient quantity of steam has been projected, the cock I is closed in order that the pressure may again reach four atmospheres and also to enable the steam projected to condense. Then the cock I is turned so as to open the passage K from the receptacle 0, by which disinfecting vapors are projected into the room. As already mentioned, it is necessary between these two operations to sprinkle the floor with a suitable quantity of the disinfecting solution. The alcoholized and alkalinized steam in the first operation, as well as the disinfecting vapors in the second, are thus projected into the room or place to be disinfected in all directions. After the necessary amount of disinfectant has been applied the room must remain closed in an air-tight manner for a certain time in order to enable the disinfecting and sterilizing action to take place, which time in the experiment above related was twenty-four hours.

In certain cases and according to the ar rangement of rooms instead of the trident S T U the projecting and diffusing apparatus maybe constituted by a pivoted rotating tube or sprayer V, Fig. 3, rotated by the fluid escaping under pressure and the tubular branches of which, under the influence of this rotation, which can be regulated as desired in any manner, spray and diffuse said vapors, but in a less perfect manner than is done by the trident, Fig. 2. These two apparatus naturally may vary in shape and dimensions, according to the rooms or places treated.

Then disinfecting bedding, clothing, and other articles in air-tight receptacles of any shape, size, and description, whether fixed or mounted on a vehicle, the branches of the trident may vary in shape and size. In some cases they may be entirely dispensed with, a simple nozzle or tube being employed.

I claim- I 1. In an apparatus for use as described, the combination with a closed receptacle adapted to contain alcoholized and alkalinized water, and an inn-er closed vessel adapted to contain disinfecting solution, of an extension contain ing two passages one com municating with the inner and the other with the outer receptacle, a rotatable plug having two bores adapted to cooperate with-said passages as described, a tubular extension having two branches which communicate at one end with the said passages and which merge at the opposite end into a single branch of the said tubular extension, and a diffusing or spraying device in communication with the said single branch of the tubular extension.

2. In an apparatus for use as described, the combination with an outer hermetically-010s able receptacle and an inner closed recepta- In testimony whereof I have signed my cle, of an extension F having passages J, K, name to this specification in the presence of the cock I, the tubular extension comprising two subscribing witnesses.

the branches L, M, N, the casing O, flexible EUGENE FOURNIER; 5 extension R, and a spraying device connect- Witnesses:

ed with the latter extension, all as and for the EDWARD P. MAOLEAN,

purpose specified. LOUIS SULLIGER. 

